Mail Call - July 1

June 30, 2011

“I totally agree with the article that was put in the paper on Friday, June 24, about Greencastle school board phoning in votes to raise taxes. No. 1: I disagree with raising taxes to pay for a football athletic field, and I played sports, and that’s not the right way to pay for that. Also, it should be illegal to have phone-in votes. If people aren’t present, their vote should not be counted — at least not by phone, anyway.”— Greencastle, Pa.

“Here again, it’s another report on the Waynesboro school district. They dumped all of those teachers, eliminated options for students, and just reinvested a pile of money on new bleachers. Where are your priorities?”— Waynesboro, Pa.

“To the Greencastle caller who questioned the legality of the Greencastle-Antrim school board phone-in votes to raise taxes: I, too, share your concern. I checked the board of education’s web site and was unable to locate the board’s bylaws. In addition, the subject ‘board policy’ was not accessible. I suggest you either attend a board of education meeting or make a written request for a copy of their bylaws. The phone-in votes might be legal, but the board needs to clear this up.”— Greencastle, Pa.

“I’m just astounded at the pay raises that the BOE is going to get. I wonder how much this is gonna cost the state again. I’m a nurse for the State of Maryland, and the past three years I’ve had to take furlough days and pay cuts. I think this is obscene and outrageous, and I am a county taxpayer. This upsets me greatly.”— Washington County

“Well, I see that Pangborn Hall at the hospital is gone, and I didn’t realize how devastating it was going to be to see those buildings torn down. I just can’t imagine when they start on the hospital. Secondly, I’d just like to know why the historical society didn’t get involved with that, because they definitely are historical buildings. It’s just ridiculous that they’re just being torn down like that — not to mention the impact on the landfill.”— Hagerstown

“I think these people that are calling in about the recycling bins are missing something that’s very obvious. I think the reason people use them for dumping ... is the county charges too much at the landfill to get a permit. They’re too restrictive about what you can put in the Dumpsters at the landfill, and also, the county needs to put out some Dumpsters for people that can’t make it all the way to the landfill, once or twice a year.”— Hagerstown

“Maybe people wouldn’t dump their trash at the recycling bin or alongside the roadside if it didn’t cost an arm and a leg to take it to the landfill. It’s completely outrageous.”— Clear Spring

“Hagerstown caller, how dare you criticize Bush and the Republicans for passing Medicare Part D. Do you want seniors to have to choose between food and medicine and not get the care they deserve and need? You’re obviously one of those heartless people who want to end Medicare and push seniors off a cliff. Now, how do you like being on the receiving end of the ‘Mediscare’ propaganda and extreme partisan demagoguery you Democrats continually throw at Republicans? Fun, isn’t it?”— Frederick, Md.

“Cars passing on double lines; people talking and texting on cell phones while driving; dirt bikes and motorcycles driving like they are on a race course; kids riding bicycles in front of cars, like the streets are sidewalks. I witnessed all of that while in my car this past Saturday. Come on, people. Do you want to die, or are you trying out for a TV show called ‘A Thousand Ways to Die’? Get smart, and start caring about your life and the life of others.”— Clear Spring

“Yes, the government’s wasting our money once again. I’ve known for years the postal service was in debt, tremendous debt. Now I noticed in the post office, they’re gonna close Friday at noon, they’re gonna close Saturday, of course, they’re closed Sunday, then Monday’s the Fourth and they’re gonna be closed Monday. But yet those are paid holidays. What goes here? They used to close, like, on Sunday and Monday, the holiday. Now they’re giving them Friday half a day off, and Saturday.”— Hagerstown

“Remember Katrina and New Orleans? Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Michael Moore and the Hollywood group complaining about Bush? Well, where are they now, with the flooding along the Mississippi River? Oh, yes, that’s a different story, right?”— Charles Town, W.Va.